Bearing-adjusting means for axles.



E. A. NELSON.

BEARING ADJUSTING MEANS POR AXLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 1, 1912.

986. Patented Jan. 21, 1913.

entran s'ra'rns earner onirica.

EMIL A. NELSON, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO HUPP MOTOR CARCOMPANY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

y `ispecification'of Letters Patent.

BEARING-ADJUSTING MEANS FOR .AXLESJ Patented Jan. 21. Mint.

j Application mea Maren 1, i912. seria1 No. 680,983.

To ai! lwhom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, EMIL A'. NELSON, a

citizen ot' the United States of America, .re-

siding at Detroit, in the county ofiiayne and State of Michigan, haveinvent-ed certain. new and useful Improvements in Bear'- ing-AdjustingvMeans for Axles, ot which -the following is a specification, referencebeing 'had therein to the accompanying tions of said shaft. vWith suchconstructions it is usual to locate the differential gearing in ahousing'which contains journal and end thrust bearings for each of thebevel gears. To adjust these bearings it is necessaryto remove the axlesection and to insert in place thereof a suitable adjusting tool.

The present invention is designed to simplify the operation ofadjustment by a construction in which the axle section itself may beused as the adjusting tool as hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings-Figure 1 is-a longitudinal section through the axle asin position for use; Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the manner ofadjusting the bearingfby the axle section; and F ig. 3 \is a, crosssection on line w--m of Fig. 2.

A. is the axle housing having the central enlargement B which contains acompensating gearing of any suitable construction including the drivebevel pinions C and the bevel gear wheels D and D in engagementtherewith and respectively communicating motion to the shaft sections Eand E. The gear Wheels D and D are independently revolubly mounted'within a -trame member F which also carries the drive pinions C vandiis;v itself revolved by a bevel gear wheel G mounted thereon. Themember F is journaled Within the housing B preferably by engaging rollerbearings H therein, while 'the enc-l thrust is provided for by ballbearvvings. l shown as arrangedv at the inner end of each rollerbearing. These thrust bearings are adjusted by members J each ot whichbears against the sleeve member H and which have a threaded engagement Jwith the housing member B. Thus by rotating the member J all lost motionin the thrust bearing may be taken up and the parts` may be locked inthis postion'by suit-able means such as the clamping bolts K. Inasmuchhowever, as t-he member J is within the housing B itis inaccessibleexceptlng by some instrument introduced from the end of the axlehousing, and heretofore it has been necessary to first remove the axleshaft section and to'then introduce the ad- ]usting instrument. This isavoided in the present construction by utilizing the axle shalt sectionfor an adjust-ing tool, the construct-ion being preferably as follows:The, member J is provided with al central aper' ture L of sufficientdiameter for the passage of the shaft section E and is also notched at.M to form a wrenchhold. The sections E and E of the axle shaft haveformed at their inner ends the projecting keys N by which said sectionsare coupled to their respective pinions D and D and these keys N areadapted to enga-ge the notches M in the member J. Thus to adjust thebearing the clamping bolt K is loosened, the axle section E detachedfrom the wheel and drawn outward until the key N engages the notch M,

after which a slight rotation will effect the necessary adjustment, theclamp K is then tightened and the axle section returned to its normalposition.

The construction above described is one which utilizes parts which areessential to the normal operation of the mechanism for etliecting theadjustment ot the bearing and avoids the necessity of completelydetaching the axle and providing an independent tool for adiustment.

`What I claim as my invention is:

l. The combination with drive mechanism and a shaft actuated thereby, ofmeans for adjusting said mechanism through the medium of said shaft.

2. The combination with drive mechanism and an axle actuated thereby, otmeans for adjusting said mechanism through the medium of said axle,engageable with the axle by a longitudinaladjustment of the latter.

3. The combination twith drive mechanism and an axle actuated thereby,ot an end thrust bearing for said mechanism, and a rotatable member foradjusting said bearing, said axle being engageable with said sfopens-ating gearing, a bearing for saic'l com# pensating gearing. a keyonsail axle sec, tion foitcoupling the same with said com# pensatinggearing. and a-A member for adjusting said bearing notched for thepassage of said key and adapted to be rotated by the .key foradjustment. l In testimony lwhereof I'aix my signature in presenceofvtwo witnesses. y

EMIL A. NELSON.

Witnesses:

FRANKIE. WA'rrs, J QHN PETERSON;

